ADATA XPG Spectrix D45G memory review

Our Verdict

82%

Attractive and reasonably priced, but the competition is faster, and either overclocks further or costs less money.

When it comes to gamer memory, ADATA rarely makes an ugly module and the same is true for the ADATA XPG Spectrix D45G. It uses a large diffusing bar across its RGB LEDs to present a seamless band of color that’s vibrant and produces accurate colors. However, the RGB lighting here doesn’t quite have the punch of the illumination on Corsair and Kingston’s latest DDR4 modules.

At Custom PC, we’ve been reviewing the latest memory since 2003, and we’ve tested and overclocked hundreds of kits, going right back to the original DDR era. We run both synthetic and application benchmarks to assess performance, and also see how far we can overclock each kit. In addition, we look at any RGB lighting features and assess how good it looks, as well as how well the control software works. For more information, check out our How we test page.

There’s no in-house software either, as offered by Corsair, Kingston and G.Skill, but you can control the ADATA memory’s lighting using ASRock, Asus, Gigabyte or MSI motherboard RGB lighting software. The modules are also available in black or white, with the latter being a good match for similar-colored motherboards, such as Gigabyte’s Vision series.

Plus, unlike the towering Corsair Dominator Platinum modules that also come in white, the XPG Spectrix D45G modules are 1cm shorter, so you’re more likely to be able to squeeze them under a large CPU heatsink. Sadly, we couldn’t get a temperature reading from the modules in our testing, but there’s ample metal included to keep them cool.

Our sample kit used the popular 3600MHz mark as its frequency, which is ideal for both Intel and AMD systems. However, its 18-22-22-44 timings were a little slack compared with other kits. The G.Skill Trident Z RGB Neo and Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro kits offer slightly tighter timings at the same frequency for similar or less cash.

Interestingly, there were Samsung D-die memory chips under the hood of the XPG Spectrix D45G, while other DDR4 kits we’ve recently tested used either Samsung B-die or SK Hynix D-die chips, so it will be interesting to see who wins. If you need more than 16GB, or a faster speed, there are also 4133MHz 16GB kits available for $135, and the 32GB version of our 3600MHz kit costs $159.

ADATA XPG Spectrix D45G performance

Performance was average in the AIDA64 Extreme tests, sitting in the middle of the pack, which was expected given its common frequency and similar timings to other kits. This was mimicked in its RealBench system score of 226,845 too; while this was the fastest DDR4 memory result we’ve recently seen, it was within the margin of error of all the other scores.

ADATA XPG Spectrix D45G overclocking

We managed to hit the same overclocked frequency of 3866MHz on the ADATA memory as we did with the Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro and G.Skill Trident Z RGB Neo kits, so there’s enough headroom if you want to try pushing the fabric clock on AMD systems a little.

That will be essential too, as our standard test with the overclocked frequency saw slower results in our AMD system than at stock speed, highlighting the importance of attention to detail when tweaking AMD frequencies. If you want more headroom, the Kingston Fury Beast DDR4 RGB modules with their SK Hynix dies managed to hit a lofty frequency of 4000MHz.

ADATA XPG Spectrix D45G pros and cons

Pros

• Attractive design
• Available in black and white
• Reasonably priced

Cons

• Average timings and overclocking headroom
• More vibrant lighting is available elsewhere
• No in-house RGB software

ADATA XPG Spectrix D45G spec

The ADATA XPG Spectrix D45G specs list is:

ADATA XPG Spectrix D45G price

Price: Expect to pay $95 (£90).

ADATA XPG Spectrix D45G review conclusion

The ADATA XPG Spectrix D45G has a lot going for it, with both black and white modules available, even if they don’t have eye-popping lighting, plus the kits have a reasonable price and overclocking headroom. There are a few snags, though, such as a lack of in-house RGB lighting software, which can be useful when avoiding often finicky motherboard software, plus average timings, a lack of frequency and timing options and a slightly higher price than the competition.

Other kits also overclocked further too, such as the Kingston Fury Beast DDR4 RGB, which also had a higher out-of-the-box frequency for the same cash. Of course, the real issue is that Corsair’s Vengeance RGB Pro is also available in white for less money and has its own RGB lighting software, so it just pips the XPG Spectrix D45G to the post. If you need shorter white RGB memory modules, though, the ADATA memory is worth considering.